


when you find you

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Age Difference, Angst, Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Het, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-25
Updated: 2015-10-25
Packaged: 2018-04-28 03:44:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5076550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When he learns Caitlin is leaving town, Joe tries to talk her out of it</p>
            </blockquote>





	when you find you

**Author's Note:**

> For the October Songfic challenge, day 5 "Come Back to Me"

When Caitlin opened her front door, her eyes widened at the sight of him. Joe, however, had been a police officer for a very long time and he knew how to read people, didn't miss the flash of pain that seared through her eyes before she squared her shoulders, the way she held on to the solid wooden door as if for dear life. She didn't slam it in his face though, and Joe took some comfort in that. 

Not much, but some. 

"Hey," she said, her voice bright and breezy, or trying to be. He could hear the effort in that too. "I didn't expect you-"

He cut her off, didn't feel the slightest bit guilty for doing it. "Caitlin, I know," he said simply. Her eyes narrowed, brow furrowing as she tilted her head and he continued, "Cisco told me." Her breath left her in a sigh and she dropped her head, shaking it so that her long hair swung from side to side. Joe's fingers itched to push it back but he resisted the urge. "Somehow, I get the feeling he knows about us."

A tiny giggle escaped her lips as she looked up at him. "The first question he asked when I told him was, 'What about Joe?' I should have known he'd go to you..." She shook her head again, pulled herself up straight and he tried not to think that maybe, on some level, she had known and that was exactly why she'd told Cisco her plans. "Is this where you try to talk me out of it?"

Her voice was cold but that wasn't why the temperature in the hallway dropped significantly. Holding up his hands, Joe asked, "Look, can I come in?" He glanced around. "I don't want to have this conversation in the hallway."

For a moment, he thought she was going to slam the door in his face after all. The rush of relief when she stepped back, turned away and headed towards the living room, almost made him weak and he had to hurry to catch up to her.  Upon reaching the living room, his heart sank at the suitcase, already packed, standing beside the couch where they'd spent so many evenings. 

"You don't have to go," he told her, cutting right to the chase and Caitlin shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"Joe, I killed people," she reminded him, not that he needed it. He'd been dancing on the head of pins with the Meta Human Task Force for the last couple of weeks, swearing there were no Killer Frost leads, knowing all the time that she was the woman who was sharing his bed. "I could have killed you." She swallowed hard and even though her arms were still crossed, he could see her knuckles were white. "And if Captain Singh finds out you lied in an official investigation..."

"You think I care about that?" He crossed the room to her, stopping just short of touching her. "Caitlin, I care about you."

Caitlin pressed her lips together tightly, a thin shimmer of tears shining in her eyes. "Joe, I don't know who I am anymore. Ever since... this..." She waved one hand and a tiny flurry of ice formed in the air, fell slowly to the ground. "I need some time, that's all. Some space."

Remembering how giving Barry some space in the immediate aftermath of the singularity had worked out, Joe wasn't inclined to agree. Then again, Barry had come around, eventually. Still though, the thought of her on her own out there... "We can help you," he tried and this time, a single tear slid down her cheek. 

"I know you want to," she whispered.  "But I need to help myself first." She stepped towards him, laid her hands on his chest. Her gaze fixed on his tie, her fingers plucking at a non-existent spot of lint there. "It's not forever," she told him and he'd never wanted to believe anything more. "Just until I get my head together."

Joe sighed as he placed a finger underneath her chin, tilted her head up so that he could look into her eyes. "I'm going to hold you to that," he said, leaning down to brush his lips over hers. He intended it to be a quick kiss but she was the one who deepened it, pulling him closer to her and winding her arms around his neck. 

He kissed her until there were tears on both their cheeks and when he pulled back, he cupped her face in his hands. "You come back to me," he whispered, part order, part plea and she nodded. 

"I promise." 

It was his turn to nod and he knew he should take that as his cue to leave. Instead he pulled her closer, trying to make himself believe that the chill in his heart was Killer Frost doing her thing. 

But when Caitlin wrapped her arms around him, buried her head in his chest, he knew better. 


End file.
